freelance jobs, writing, design

How To Be Genuine and Nice in a Web 2.0 World (and Why It’s Important)

Posted June 29, 2009 in How-To, Marketing 17 Rockin' Comments »

In the past, we’ve posted here about the importance of monitoring your online reputation. That post was mainly about knowing and responding to what others are saying about you, or about your business, online.

There’s a whole other dimension, however, of online reputation management that doesn’t often get discussed.

It’s the dimension of how you, as both a professional and individual, behave online.

It may surprise you to know that some of the worst hits to your freelancing reputation occur, not as a result of what others say or do online, but actually as a result of what you say or do online.

Sadly, the reputation damage that you do to yourself can often be more severe than the reputation damage that others do to you.

[Click here to read more →]

How I Used Blogging to Land $20,000+ Worth of Clients

Posted June 18, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Marketing 19 Rockin' Comments »

There are numerous ways to expand your client base and increase the size of your portfolio. Common tactics used to do this include utilizing your contacts, taking part in relevant discussion forums, being active in freelance marketplaces and even watching industry specific job boards.

One idea that is implemented by some people but certainly not by everyone, is blogging. Sharing your abilities with the world in the hope that the right person finds what you have to offer. Through my experience though, quite a few people fail to have any success when trying to use this strategy.

Today I want to share my own story, and how I made over $20,000 in 4 months when my only source of clients were through blogging. To some, $20,000 might not seem like much, I really don’t know what your own income looks like. Yet, when I tell you I did this at 17 whilst working in my bedroom, it might make blogging look a little more promising.

Whether you run a blog or are considering starting one, I hope this post gives you a fresh look on some ideas you may have missed.

[Click here to read more →]

How To Make Potential Customers Pick You Over ‘The Other Guys’

Posted June 9, 2009 in Business, How-To, Marketing 20 Rockin' Comments »

Worldwide, individuals and companies are tightening their belts. They are approaching new purchases cautiously — in many cases delaying, or even avoiding, new expenses.

Consumers and business buyers alike are looking to get maximum value for their dollar. The burning question at the back of every buyer’s mind is:

Why should I buy something from you instead of from your competition?

It’s more important now than ever to differentiate your freelancing business from other freelancing businesses. Differentiating your business is the key to winning clients from competitors.

To do this, you must first discover what sets your freelancing business apart from similar businesses. Once you discover what’s unique about your freelancing business you must express that information clearly and frequently to your customers and prospective customers.

In this post we’ll try to help you with both points.

[Click here to read more →]

3 Ways To Get Clients From Twitter

Posted May 26, 2009 in How-To, Marketing, News 29 Rockin' Comments »

Twitter is quickly becoming the new online powerhouse for networking, and along with that growth comes a significant opportunity for freelancers to find new clients. For those of you who are very new to twitter, I recommend checking out our previous overview of twitter for freelancers before continuing, as it will probably explain a lot.

In the early days, most freelancers used twitter as an online playground or chat area. It was great to blow off some steam, and worked really well for things like making new friends. There weren’t too many potential clients on twitter at this point.

Recently though, twitter has become populated by just about everyone (a subset of everyone, at least) — including a huge number of potential new clients. Not only are there possible clients on twitter, but many times they are such good leads that they’re even ASKING for the work. How can you tap into this resource? It’s actually pretty easy…

[Click here to read more →]

How To Be The Freelancer That Everyone Wants To Work With

Posted May 21, 2009 in Business, Marketing 11 Rockin' Comments »

Have you ever thought about why your clients reach out to you, or what it is they want to buy from you? Maybe an amazing design from a web designer, or an awesome article from a writer? No, that’s not the answer.

When your clients decide to hire you they aren’t really buying your services, they are buying two things that we as freelancers sometimes forget — they are buying a solution to their problems, and they are buying feelings that that make them feel good about themselves and their business.

So what does it take to be the freelancer that everyone wants to work with?

[Click here to read more →]

Which is Better for the Freelancer: Specialization or Diversification?

Posted May 15, 2009 in Business, Marketing 26 Rockin' Comments »

You’ve probably heard it said time and time again: finding the right specialty is the key to having a successful freelancing business.

If you’ve read any business advice recently, it may seem that everyone from bloggers to textbook authors to marketing specialists is touting the advantages of choosing a specialization to small business owners.

My question for you today is: what do you think about specialization and freelancing Is being specialized as important to freelance success as many people seem to think that it is?

I can see arguments for both specialization AND diversification and I’ll share them with you here.

[Click here to read more →]